"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical or cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." ~ Bill Hicks."To argue with a person who has renounced reason is like administering medicine to the dead." ~ Thomas Paine."One should not believe everything one reads on the internet." ~ Abraham Lincoln."If you're making a political point wearing a balaclava, you're a c***. It was true for the IRA and it's true now." ~ daftbeaker.

Almighty Doer of Stuff wrote:What does "the Pied Piper of life" even mean? He magically siphoned souls out of the bodies of entire villages with the promise of entertainment, only to damn them to eternal hellfire?

I don't know who you're referring to here, but maybe it's because he - whoever he is - always commanded a following in whatever he did.

Roland Deschain - Half prophet, half gunslinger, all Pastafarian!

"Since Alexander Pearce escaped, over 250 people have disappeared in the Tasmanian wilderness. No remains have ever been found." - Dying Breed

The first Mrs T. Just found out this morning from my former sister-in-law. No details known. Poor kid.

"Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens."("Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.")-- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-- Philip K DickOK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard.-- Dr. JoyEnglish isn't much of a language for swearing. When I studied Ancient Greek I was delighted to discover a single word - Rhaphanidosthai - which translates roughly as "Be thou thrust up the fundament with a radish for adultery."

I remember the first time I heard "Take Five," it affected me so greatly that I fell off the couch I was laying on. I consider "Blue Rondo a la Turk" to be the greatest composition of the 20th century. He will be sorely missed.

"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.'" - Carl Sagan

"To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection." - Henri Poincaré

"Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens."("Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.")-- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-- Philip K DickOK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard.-- Dr. JoyEnglish isn't much of a language for swearing. When I studied Ancient Greek I was delighted to discover a single word - Rhaphanidosthai - which translates roughly as "Be thou thrust up the fundament with a radish for adultery."

May I extend my condolences towards the friends and family of two great people:-

The first is Sir Patrick Moore, pioneer astronomer who has graced our screens for the last 50-odd years in The Sky At Night. I'm sure the show will continue in his permanent absence, but it will be less without this wonderful and eccentric man. He died aged 89 after an illness, at his home.

The second is architect Oscar Niemeyer, who at 104, has passed away. He put so much effort into making Brazil what it is today, and was the mastermind behind so many of those buildings we love (or hate).

Roland Deschain - Half prophet, half gunslinger, all Pastafarian!

"Since Alexander Pearce escaped, over 250 people have disappeared in the Tasmanian wilderness. No remains have ever been found." - Dying Breed

He [Moore] built his own telescope in the garden of his Sussex home and began to observe the moon. The detailed maps of the moon's surface that he produced during this time were used by NASA as part of the preparations for the moon landing.

Now that is an obituary.

Queen guitarist Brian May, who published a book on astronomy written with Sir Patrick, described him as a "dear friend, and a kind of father figure to me".

...

Well, he was made of recycled stars, and now he will be recycled as something else, hopefully even more amazing.

"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical or cruel; but I am, so that's how it comes out." ~ Bill Hicks."To argue with a person who has renounced reason is like administering medicine to the dead." ~ Thomas Paine."One should not believe everything one reads on the internet." ~ Abraham Lincoln."If you're making a political point wearing a balaclava, you're a c***. It was true for the IRA and it's true now." ~ daftbeaker.

Roland Deschain wrote:The second is architect Oscar Niemeyer, who at 104, has passed away. He put so much effort into making Brazil what it is today, and was the mastermind behind so many of those buildings we love (or hate).

Wait--- Oscar Niemeyer? The hot dog guy?

"Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens."("Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.")-- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-- Philip K DickOK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard.-- Dr. JoyEnglish isn't much of a language for swearing. When I studied Ancient Greek I was delighted to discover a single word - Rhaphanidosthai - which translates roughly as "Be thou thrust up the fundament with a radish for adultery."